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CARBON CYCLE
The purpose of this section is to provide an
understanding of the carbon cycle and how
changes in carbon stores impact climate change.

ATHENAS is a multi-national Initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture

CARBON CYCLE

Source: http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/76572.html
THE EARTH HAS FIVE SPHERES THAT ARE
PART OF THE CARBON CYCLE:
ATMOSPHERE LITHOSPHERE
1 Envelope of gases surrounding earth
4 Rigid outer part of earth’s surface

HYDROSPHERE BIOSPHERE
2 All bodies of water
5 Regions of earth’s surface occupied by
living organisms

CRYOSPHERE
3 Frozen part of earth’s surface
CARBON IS THE FUNDAMENTAL
BUILDING BLOCK OF LIFE
All living organisms are built of carbon compounds. It is the fundamental
building block of life and an important component of many chemical processes.

In the atmosphere, carbon is present primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2), but

also as other less abundant but climatically significant gases, such as
methane (CH4).
 WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH CARBON?
This animation describes the carbon cycle and how it is affected by human activity.
It was featured in the Sustainable Shelters exhibit at the Bell Museum of Natural
History at the University of Minnesota.
KEY POINTS TO KNOW ABOUT
THE CARBON CYCLE
o Life is fueled by carbon compounds o Carbon sink: more carbon enters a pool
than leaves it
o CO2 is released by the burning of fossil fuels

o The atmosphere and oceans are continuously o Carbon source: more carbon leaves a
exchanging CO2 pool than enters

o The carbon cycle consists of reservoirs o Carbon dioxide is a major player in the
that store carbon (the atmosphere, the Earth’s energy balance
oceans, vegetation, rocks, and soil) and
processes by which carbon moves
between these reservoirs
IN-CLASS ACTIVITY POGIL Activity: The Carbon Cycle (Download PDF)

About POGIL Activities:

You can learn more about POGIL at: https://pogil.org/about

What is POGIL? from The POGIL Project on Vimeo.

MORE INFORMATION The Department of Geosciences at Georgia State
University has published a set of labs that may be

AND RESOURCES
helpful. Of particular interest are the following:

Lab 4 The Carbon Cycle (Part 1) http://sites.gsu.edu/geog1112/lab-4-2/

Lab 4 The Carbon Cycle (Part 2)

http://sites.gsu.edu/geog1112/lab-4-the-carbon-cycle-part-2/

TED Talk The Carbon Cycle (3:54 minutes)

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-carbon-cycle-nathaniel-m
anning
by Nathaniel Manning and Jill Johnston